Insulated rail-joint.



PATENTED OCT. 25, 1904.

No. 772,985. y

G. A. WEBER.

INSULATED RAIL JOINT.

APPLICATION FILED .TUNE 8, 190,4.

5 SHBETS-SHEET 1.

No MODEL.

PATENTED OCT. 25, 1904.

G, A. WEBER. INSULATED RAIL JOINT.

m. '772,95. f l PUBMED 00's, z5, m4.

- y G. A. WEBER.. l

INSULATED RAIL mm.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE i 33333 N0 MODEL.

E z n s u n GEORGE' Y 4? @fw-U 'i "UNITED STATES Patented October 25, 1904. y

PATENTv OFFICE.

, GEORGE A. WEBER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO YVEBER RAILWAY JOINT MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N.l Y., A OORPORA- TIoN oF WEST VIRGINIA.'

i lNs'ULATED RAIL-JOINT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 772,985, dated October 25, 1904. Application tiled .Tune 8, 1904. Serial No. 211,604. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, it may concern.-

Be itknown thatI, GEORGE A. WEB En, a citi- Zen of the United States, and a resident of the borough of Manhattan, city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Insulated Rail-Joints, of which the following is a specication accompanicd by drawings.

This invention relates Vto insulated rail- IQ joints; and. one of its objects is to insulate the rails one from the other and hold'the rail ends in position underthe passage of the trainin such manner that the endsof the rails are pref` ventedv from moving upward whenth'e wheels I5 are passing from one railto another. j Another object of the invention is to secure a downward hold upon the base-flanges ofthe rails, but at the Sametime take a firm upward pressure under the heads. v t 2O Further objects of the invention willhereinafter appear; and to vthese ends the inven-l tionconsists of a rail-joint for carrying out .the above objects embodying the features of construction substantially as hereinafter fully described and claimed. in: this specification, and shown in the accompanying drawings,in

Figure l is a transverse sectional view of an insulated joint embodying the invention. Fig. .2 is a transverse sectional view of an insulated jointhaving a strip or block of ber in placeofthe wooden,filling-blocken the inside'ofv the joint. Fig. 3 is aplan view of Fig.

j l. t is a side elevation of the joint lookingat .the outside of the upright of the shoeangle. Fig. 5- is a side elevation of a joint embodying the invention with a fiber insulatingrplate under one rail and a metallic plate undertheother rail. Fig. 6 isa side eleva- 40 tion of a joint embodying the invention, showing themetallic strut in two pieces instead of a continuous strut extending across the joint. Fig'. 7 is a transverse sectional view of a modiiied form of joint having wooden lling-'blocks at eachside of the rails, one of 'said blocks being provided with reinforcing metallic struts.

Fig. 8 is a side elevation of the joint shown.

in Fig. 7.

Referring to the drawings, A and B represent the rail ends, and O is a' rail-chair hav- 50 ing a base D, an upright E, and a spiking rib or ange F. The upper end of the upright E, as shown, is provided with a head G, forming ay hook turned inwardly toward the rails. Ony the side of the joint toward the upright E aV strut or struts H are provided, extending between the head or hooked end G of the chair and the base-ianges of the rails. In this instancev the strut H is shown bearing upon insulation I, arranged along the angle between the base-flanges of the rails and the' web portion. By providing the insulation I electric continuity between the railsand the chair is prevented through the strut H. The strut H may consistof one continuous metallic bar eX- 65 tending across the joint, as shown in Figs. L

ando, jorrit may be broken, as shown in Fig. and consist of the two parts H. othe'r'side of the joint, opposite kthe upright of At the the chair, suitable insulating material is provided adjacent the webs of the rails. This insulating material may consist of a block of Wood J, as shown in Fig. l, or it may consist of a strip .or block of insulating material K, as fiber, as shown in Fig. 2. Preferably a continuous metallic strap or band L is provided, extending across the joint on the inside, and suitable bolts O secure the parts of the joint together. v

Suitable insulation is provided for insulat- 8O ing one rail vfrom the otl1er,`as'sh0vvn, the usual insulating-sleeves P and washers Q being provided for the bolts where they pass through the strap L; Insulating-wash'ers Q, are also provided at the nut ends of the bolts, '85 and the insulating-sleeves R at this side of the joint are shown of such length that they serve to insulate the bolts from the upright of the chair and also insulate the metallic strut or struts kH from the bolts. Itis understood 90 that a suicient number of the `bolts are insulated in the manner describedto break the electric continuity of the rails.

Suitable insulation S isprovided beneath the base of at least one of the rails. In Fig. 4L the insulating liber S is shown'eXtending under both rails, while in Fig. 5 the sheet of liber S is shown under one rail, while a metallic plate T, preferably of steel, is arranged under the other rail. Preferably the steel plate'T is placed under the receiving-rail.

Suitable means are provided for maintaining the insulation S beneath the rails` as shown in this instance, a piece of tape U, preferably of insulating material, being suitably secured to the fiber insulation'S and then clamped between portions of the joint. Preferably the piece of tape U is interlaced with the fiber insulation S, as shown in Fig. l. An air-gap may be left between the meeting faces of the ends of the rails; but preferably fiber end posts V are provided to maintain the rail ends out of contact.

In Fig. 7 a modification is shown in which an insulating-block W is substituted in place of the strut H. (Shown in Fig. l.) This insulating-block W is preferably of wood and is provided at intervals with metallic struts X in the form of short rods or bars of iron or steel. In order to preventelectric connection through the metallic struts or strengthening-pieces X, they are preferably provided with insulating material Y, arranged between the two portions of each strut. The inwardlyturned head or hook portion Gr of the upright E ofthe chair bears upon the upper portion of the insulating-block W, and when the bolts are tightened it will be seen that the insulating-block is forced down upon the base-flanges Aof the rails and at the same time an upward pressure is produced under the heads of the rails. The metallic filling-pieces or struts X take the direct pressure between the head of the railwchair and the base-flanges and prevent the wood from crushing, at the same time producing a strong downward pressure upon the base-flanges.

According to this invention it will be seen that a strong downward pressure is secured upon the base-flanges of the rails, which tends to prevent the rail ends from rising or moving upward when the wheels are passing from one rail to another. As shown in Figs. 7 and 8, an upward pressure is also obtained under the heads of the rails, which prevents the rail ends from sinking as the wheels are passing.

In all of the figures side bars are used at each side of the rails. These side bars are embodied in the wooden filling-blocks used, and they are also embodied in the continuous strap L, and the strut or struts H for the wooden lillingblocks may be termed side bars as well as the metallic side bars. The construction of the rail-chair is such that one of the side bars, whether of metal or insulating material, is locked to the base-flanges of the rails. y

The chair of the construction described and shown in the drawings is constructed to secure a lit between the parts of the joint and the bearing-surfaces of the rails. These bearing-surfaces comprise the under portions of the heads, the tops of the baselanges, and the under portions of said flanges, whereby one of the side bars is locked to the baseflanges and produces a pressure thereon, while at the same time an upward pressure is produced beneath the heads of the rails. According to the arrangement of the struts it will be seen that both a downward and an inward pressure is produced upon the base of the rails. The force acting inwardly tends to maintain the rails in alinement.

Obviously some features of this invention may be used without others, and the invention may be embodied in widely-varying forms.

Therefore, without limiting the invention to the constructions shown and described nor enumerating equivalents, l claim. and desire to secure by Letters Patent, the following:

l. An insulated joint, comprising rails and side bars, and a rail-chair constructed to bear upon the upper portion of one of the side bars and produce a downward pressure on the baseianges of the rails when the joint is tightened, and at the same time cause an upward pressure under the heads of the rails, and suitable insulation for preventing the electric continuity of the rails. s

2. An insulated rail-joint, comprising rails and side bars, and a rail-chair constructed to bear upon the upper portion of one ol the side bars and secure a lit between the parts of the joint and the bearing-surfaces of the rails, comprising the under portions of the heads, the tops of the base-flanges, and the under portions of said flanges, whereby one of the side bars is locked to the base-flanges and produces a pressure thereon, while at the same time an upward pressure is produced beneath the heads of the rails, and suitable insulation Jfor insulating one rail from the other.

3. An insulated rail-joint, comprising rails and side bars, and a rail-chair constructed to bear upon the upper portion of one of the side bars and produce a downward pressure upon the base-flanges when the joint is tightened, and suitable insulation for insulating one rail from the other.

a. An insulated rail-joint, comprising the rails, a strap at one side of the joint, and a strut at the other, and a rail-chair constructed to force said strut against the base-llangcs, and insulation for insulating one rail .from the other.

5. An insulated rail-jointhaving a rail-chair with a hooked end on the upright, a strut between said hooked end and the base-Ilanges, and suitable insulation for breaking the electric continuity of the rails.

6. An insulated rail-joint, comprising rails and side bars, and a rail-chair comprising a base and an upright, said chair being constructed to bear upon the upper portion of one of the side bars and produce a downward pressure thereon when the joint is tightened,

lOO

and suitable insulation for insulating one rail v from the other.

j sulating one rail from the other.

9. An insulated rail-joint, comprising rails and side bars, a rail-chair having a base for supporting the rails, an upright, and an inward extension from said upright, whereby the rails and one side bar are clamped between the base and the extension of the upright of the chair, and insulation vfor insulating one rail from the other.

lO. In an insulated rail-joint, the combination with the rails and suitable insulatiornof a rail-chair having a'hooked head forming an inward extension for aiding in holding the parts of the joint together. v

11. A rail-joint, comprising the rails, a railchair having an inwardly-turned hooked head, a bar arranged between said hooked head and the base-anges, bolts for securing the parts of the joint together', means for insulating said bolts from the bar and chair, and means for preventing short-cirouiting through the bar.

12. An insulated rail-joint, comprising the rails, filling-blocks at each side of the joint. a rail-chair having a head adapted to bear upon the top of one of the filling-blocks, and metallic filling-pieces in said block forming struts.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscrib- GEORGE A. WEBER.

, ing witnesses.

Witnesses A. L. OBRIEN, S. R. NICHOLS. 

